Minato Namikaze
by Tobee
Summary: Twelve years ago, a Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly appeared. Its tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves to the shores. The ninja rose up to defend their village. One shinobi faced the Kyuubi in mortal combat. He sacrificed his life to seal it in a human body. This ninja was known as the Fourth Hokage. Time!Travel Self!Insert Reincarnated/Reborn
1. Chapter 1

After the 5th shinobi war...

* * *

"Happy birthday, Naruto."

Minato would have given his son a hug, but both his arms were destroyed from the battle with Obito and Madara…"You've really become amazing."

"… Heh Thanks." Naruto said with a blush.

"We exist on a different plane," Minato reluctantly pointed out, glancing at the other Kage, "We can't remain here forever…Farewell."

At Naruto's set gaze, Minato looked down, feeling parts of his skin peel off and fade as the Edo Tensei undid itself. Minato grimaced, resisting the urge to cry. "I'll make sure to tell Kushina everything…"

Naruto forced a grin.** "**Tell her I'm eating well and that everything's okay! I'm not picky either; if it's on the plate, I eat it! Tonkotsu, Miso and Shoyu… Oh! It's not like I only eat ramen though!

"I'm also taking a bath… basically every day! I even go to the hot springs sometimes! Even though everyone tells me I barely even spend enough time in there to get my feet wet!

"And uh, er… I've made a bunch of friends! They're all awesome!"

Sasuke gave Naruto an unsure look.

"And even though my grades totally suck, I don't get depressed over it or anything… I guess that's because I'm always just oozing so much confidence!

"But, of course, I've been listening to what the 3rd and Kakashi-sensei tell me! 'Coz I respect them! He's here so I guess you can ask him yourself!"

Sarutobi smiled with pride as his body started fading along with Minato's.

"Also, about the three ninja taboos! I learned a lot when I was with the Pervy Sage! He sucked at avoiding those three things but I still think he's super cool and I respect him more than any other ninja! You know, I…

"Today I just turned 17 so I don't really know anything about women or booze! But Mom told me to find a woman just like her, and… uh, er, well…

"Anyway! I haven't done everything she told me to do, but….! But I've really been trying hard to do it all!

"I have dreams and stuff too! I'm gonna become a Hokage just like you, Dad! I promise you I will!"

Only a portion of Minato's body was visible.

"Make sure to tell Mom, when you get there… Tell her that she doesn't need to worry about me!

"I'm doing my best!" Naruto finished, tears streaming down his face.

Minato's existence vanished completely.

The war was over, and the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, was supposed to be taking him to Heaven.

But this Sage sure is _old_ and the passage to Heaven doesn't sound like something easy to get through, and what was that about Hagoromo claiming that Naruto is the reincarnation of his own son, Ashura? ...

_Oi, Hag! Naruto's **my** son! _

The last thing he heard was the Sage choking on his own spit as all his non-existent senses went messy.

_Shit. Did I screw something up? _

* * *

灯光

* * *

Minato woke up to utter darkness. _No, this isn't right._

He squinted his eyes, blinking groggily awake. He was in a hallway-sized room, with twenty or so beds lining the walls. Minato was sitting on one of them.

Within the beds, were children, 5 year olds, 7 year olds, 10 year olds. Looking at his tiny hands, Minato figured he was one of them:

An orphan in an orphanage.

_Oh HELL no. _

With that, Minato went back to sleep.

* * *

灯光

* * *

When Minato woke up again, it was by the yelling of a high-pitched woman.

"WAKE UP MINATO! YOU'RE THE LAST ONE TO GET BREAKFAST!" A caretaker in an apron screamed.

"Aah!" Jumping off the bed, Minato landed on the ground and ran out the room. It was all ingrained memory and reaction, he didn't have the time to be surprised. "'Kay!"

* * *

As he sat at the long dining table with a bunch of kids, Minato grabbed his spoon and ate his bowl of dough. Then he picked up his bowl and gave it to the nurse by tiptoeing.

"Umm, how old am I?" He asked, trying to get ahold of the situation.

The nurse gave him an exasperated look. "Five, I presume. Now run along and smile to the adults outside."

Minato nodded, pivoted, and ran out the door to the other kids. It_ was_ time for recess.

* * *

灯光

* * *

Minato sat on his swing by himself, watching the other kids play.

_Yeah_. He had no idea what he was doing with his life right now.

He could still remember the events of yesterday—his daily life at this orphanage. He felt like a real five year old, nothing was out of place…except…

His dream from last night. It was a dream, he was sure of it—he dreamed that he grew up to be the Hokage, had three students, one of them "died" and turned out to be the criminal that killed him and his wife…Then he was revived to fight a war and…it was his son's birthday…The Sage was supposed to send him to Heaven—everything was over!

_So why am I still here?! _

Minato frowned, gripping the chain of the swing with too much force that the metal crumbled and the swing broke.

"Oops." Minato hopped off before he hit the floor, and wiped his _only slightly_ bleeding hand on his simple blue shirt. Just in case, he glanced around hoping no one noticed.

Then he saw— a woman who stood out against the crowd. Purple eyeliner, translucent skin, golden eyes, long hair, a slender jawline. She looked strong, with her jounin vest concealing petite breasts- Almost like, Kushina. At that moment, the crowd and swing and trees were gone and she was the only one there, towering over him, their roles reversed.

Minato didn't like it— in his dream, he would be at that age. Not as a little kid!

With the thoughts about his dream, he suddenly remembered this person—it's not woman, it's _a guy_!

_Orochimaru! _

_This was the man who pulled me out of the Death God's stomach and revived me!_

_What's he doing here?! Does he know who I am?! _Minato almost had a panic attack.

Orochimaru was currently leaning against the bark of a tree, watching the orphanage with a bored expression on his face.

The Snake Sannin's golden gaze swept across everyone, as a passerby normally would, before landing on Minato.

Freezing, Minato recognized this distant feeling. This was Jiraiya's teammate, and he'd never met this guy in all his five years of this lifetime—from what he could remember of it. Yet, he'd experienced the feeling of Orochimaru's ominous stare before.

Which means, his dream of the future was totally real, and it was totally bad.

Minato ran the hell outta there.

* * *

灯光

* * *

For a while, that was the last he saw of Orochimaru.

A few weeks flew by, and Minato grew depressed. He felt like an old man—like he'd lived an entire lifetime already, and this was just a tedious repeat of his past.

But this body physically hasn't had the experience, so at the same time, he felt young and hyperactive.

_So not a good combination. _

Minato sat at the nursery library, flipping through a kanji book in an attempt to 'learn' how to read and write, even though he already knew how. What he was actually doing was trying to visualize the application of these twisted characters into sealing formulas.

_Yes_. That teleportation jutsu, the Hiraishin. He needed to reinvent it—there was a war coming.

So, he began, and grabbed some scrap paper and red crayons from the crayon table. Now he just needed some…orange.

There was only one orange crayon and someone had it.

Minato spotted another boy doodling with his orange.

"Can I borrow that?" He asked, slightly embarrassed to be reduced to such a state, but he'd always been humble. "Please?"

The boy gave him an exasperated look, and threw the crayon at Minato's face. It hit his nose.

"Ow!" the future Yondaime exclaimed, hands instantly clasping around his face. But at least he got what he wanted. Then he took a seat and began scribbling his seals.

The nameless orphan watched him. "That's an ugly drawing."

"Yeah, thanks, I guess." Minato answered, aloof and concentrated. _It's not a drawing._

* * *

灯光


	2. Chapter 2

灯光

* * *

_Shit, this is bad. It's wrong to sit around all day. Konoha needs a hero. I'm the only person in this village to know the Flying Thunder God Technique. I'm wasting my time here, when people are dying. _

Minato watched a caretaker lead in another grouping of new toddlers, and felt a stab of guilt. _There won't be this many new orphans if I could just enter and end the war…_

And, the rooms were getting stuffy and the food was decreasing in portions and quality.

Now, Minato wasn't the skinniest or wimpiest boy in the orphanage anymore—but that's a bad thing considering he hasn't fattened up at all. It was the other kids that were in bad conditions.

"Gah! What am I still doing here?!" Minato mumbled in frustration as he walked through the hallways of the church-like orphanage. Faintly, he wondered where all the funding came from. This place looked like private property, and from his memories of being Hokage, there was no money being allotted to this particular place. He could say this for certain because he meticulously revised everything post-war, in his memories of the future.

And with so many orphans…Who's paying for all this?!

_Wait no…only an organization can afford it…Is it ROOT?! _

_Nah, I'm jumping to conclusions, must be a wealthy civilian or shinobi…_

_Gah! I don't care! I'm getting out of here to end everything! This place stinks! _

It felt weird to have his childish impulses mix with his aged wisdom, must've been a side-effect of his dream…but he'd rather have this than complete ignorance.

He had a duty as the future Yondaime, after all.

And so, Minato snuck out the front door, and no one bothered to stop him. Five years old was technically old enough to become a shinobi, albeit on the younger side. Five years old, with hands that could grip a weapon, and stab…

Minato frowned. _It's not about how old I am; they just don't care, they can't afford to. One less mouth to feed, good for them.  
_

All the more reason to end the war, become the Hokage, and fix every flaw in this shinobi system and make peace; a task he'd entrusted to his son in his memories of the future. But it wouldn't hurt to start early, now, would it?

Minato had his pride. He wasn't going to give up just because he failed to find the answer _in his memories/dream_, or because his future son had a better chance than he. He had another shot, and he wouldn't be worthy of his moniker Yellow Flash if he didn't utilize it.

* * *

灯光

* * *

Minato stood on the street across the front pouch of Jiraiya's apartment building. He'd been here before, in his 'dream'; it was a boarding house. No bathroom, no kitchen, just a single tiny bedroom to be considered a full-time home for his Sensei to live in. Then again, Jiraiya often resided in Mount Myoboku with his Toads spoiling him. The Pervert Sage hardly touched this place within Konoha.

Which was why, there was no one home, and Minato couldn't help but facepalm. _Why did I come here in the first place? He's probably out on another infiltration mission! How do I get to Jiraiya-sensei now?! I don't know where he is and I can't summon any toads to contact him because he's still hogging the contract to himself! _

"Kukuku~"

Snapped out of his thoughts by a soft, creepy chuckling behind him, Minato whirled around to see legs. _Right, I'm a 5-year-shorty. I'll have to get used to this, _he mused as he looked up.

Peering down at him, was none other than Orochimaru himself, in all his jounin-vest glory.

"AGCH!" Minato yelped as he fell flat on his butt. _Nonono what now!? _

"Scared, are we?" Orochimaru's lips curled back in a sneer. "A little yellow bird has run away from its mother's nest before learning how to fly."

Minato gulped, his face paling, his brain going on overdrive. _This man's insane- He's done illegal human experiments and betrayed Jiraiya-sensei and Konoha! What's he going to do to me?! Or better yet, what can I do to defend myself? _

_..._Really now? He's the Yellow Flash, chosen over Orochimaru for Hokage._ Hah. I have plenty of ways to defend myself, so that's not a problem. More importantly, this man is Jiraiya's teammate! He's my only lead to get to Sensei! _

Minato stopped shaking, (he was trembling?) and smiled charismatically. What would his son say in this situation? His soft smile split into a full-grin. "Yo!"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. He had a predilection to scaring little boys (and older shinobi) shitless, but apparently the yellow duckling has developed an immunity from this brief encounter.

"I'm Minato Namikaze, and I live at..." Minato tried to remember the name of the orphanage but failed. "...an orphanage. I'm tired of that place so I ran away." _Lamest excuse I ever made._ "I need a place to stay, can I use yours?" It was an incredibly absurd request, but Minato had no fears of Orochimaru conducting experiments on his body. If worse came to worse, he could just activate Hiraishin and vanish outta there. Plus, he was bound to encounter Jiraiya if he stuck close to the Snake creep.

Orochimaru's jaw dropped, his golden-green eyes wide. Unbelievable. Bigger idiot than Jiraiya. Children ran away crying, it was survival instinct; but this kid...must be born a knucklehead. But moments earlier, there had been a flash of fear in those cerulean eyes, so the child wasn't completely desensitized. Orochimaru wondered what made this child suddenly relabel him as not-a-threat. Only Jiraiya and Tsunade had ever done that, because they had to as teammates, and they were precariously arrogant. Orochimaru was intrigued. _It must be fate._

He smiled, his tongue flicking out like a snake's, inhaling the child's scent through reptilian ninjutsu. Traces of paper and crayons, diapers, oatmeal, sweat, plastic, leather, soap, cotton, and powder. There was no blood. _Not a shinobi spy. _

The boy didn't even flinch at the weird elongated tongue, he only grinned and held out his hand. There was an open wound, but no blood was coming out. _Most likely he'd injured his hand, and healed by an amateur medical ninja_ _with absurd chakra control to stop the bleeding but the stupidity to not close the wound. _Wounds like that were common in war. A ninja gets stabbed, an iryo-nin stops the bleeding with the bare minimum of chakra before moving on to other ninjas in a rush, and the ninja is left with a gaping wound, an open scar. As Orochimaru's thoughts wandered onto the technicalities of medical ninjutsu, Minato started to grow impatient. He grabbed Orochimaru's hand and squeezed.

Shocked out of his thoughts, he stared down at the child in amazement. It's..weird. He'd always been isolated and he hadn't had friendly body contact with others- shinobi don't trust each other. This kid was no shinobi, but that would make him all the more weak to his thin layer of chronic killing intent. By reflex, he curled his fingers around the child's, much like a bewildered parent. _What game are you playing, duckling?_

"Let's go home." Minato gave him his best Hokage-smile and pulled him into a faster walk.

"It's the other way." Orochimaru deadpanned.

"Hahaaha, right!" As Minato was dragged off the opposite direction, he decided to ease some suspicions before he accidentally blurted out the man's name without having learned it. "Umm, adult-san, what's your name?"

"Orochimaru..." With a twisted smile, the Snake Sannin drawled sinisterly. "But you may call me 'father.'"

* * *

灯光


	3. Chapter 3

灯光

* * *

Minato never had any parents, not in his "past life," nor his current life.

_ Jiraiya-sensei was more of a father to me than a master. _ Minato smiled wistfully._ I guess that makes him Naruto's grandfather._

"Kufufufu," came Orochimaru's distracted chuckle.

_Ah. But that Jiraiya_ _never happened to me, it was all a crazy memory. Right now, in the present, this is my father, and I'll be damned if I let him defect from this village like he did in my prognostication dream. _Minato looked up from his place at the corner of the dark basement. He was surrounded by scrolls; Orochimaru didn't have any scrap paper and Minato wanted to doodle with the crayons he'd stolen from the orphanage. To improvise, his adoptive father had thrown him some Forbidden Jutsu scrolls so he could draw at the back of them.

He'd expected Orochimaru to attempt to dissect his body the instant they entered this secret laboratory, but the scientist merely pointed him to sit somewhere and stay silent as he finished up the last of his research.

Hunched over his research table with scalpels and notes, Orochimaru was in a different state of mind, transfixed.

Minato recognized that expression; he'd been like that himself when he created the Death God Seal and most certainly did not wish to be disturbed even by Kushina.

_Which is why I won't break his concentration. _

...

...

...

_Boring! I'm going to take a peek._

Sneaking over by quiet feet, Minato approached Orochimaru from behind, peering over at what he's doing. He almost wretched. _T-That's a human body! Is it an enemy nin or a citizen of_ _Konoha? _Either way it was messed up, and Minato tugged the scientist's shirt. "OI!"

"Not now, Minato-kun."

Minato pouted. Before he smiled.

Orochimaru noticed out of his corner of his eye, and set aside his scalpel, drying his bloodied hands on a nearby towel. "Why are you smiling, Minato-kun?"

"Heheeheh, I'm just happy you're my dad," he confessed. He never had a chance to father Naruto or be fathered. It made Minato feel bubbly, so it wasn't difficult to show it. And so, Minato held up his sketch of Orochimaru and himself holding hands like parent and child. It genuinely looked like a 5-year-old's drawing, although not intentionally.

Holding his breath and waiting for a reaction, Minato watched.

Orochimaru's lips twitched before he let out a low cackle as he landed a hand onto Minato's head, and ruffled his hair.

It was almost the same way he petted Kakashi and Obito. _It will be a long wait before they're born, but I will make sure Rin doesn't die. _There were a lot of things Minato had to preemptively counteract. It was going to be a long journey.

Minato tilted his head and watched Orochimaru's eyes. _Soft? Gentle?_ They were so much like his own when he'd first admired Kushina, and he knew exactly what to do. He pushed forward and hugged the Snake.

Feeling a gasp come from Orochimaru, Minato inwardly laughed. _This was the man Jiraiya was always distressed over? He's just a lonesome human, like the rest of us. _ After nuzzling his adoptive father's ribs for extra measure, Minato hopped back and flailed. "So, when are you going to eat? You're going hungry."

"It's not necessary for me to..."

Minato's stomach growled an interruption.

"...Oh? I've almost forgotten." Orochimaru looked thoughtful. "It was a mistake to reject Tsunade's cooking lessons."

Minato frowned._ Argh! Fine!_ "That's okay," he said serenely, "I know how to use the stove and cook a healthy meal." He pivoted and made for the exit up the staircase to the kitchen, and Orochimaru raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"So many surprises, Minato-kun," he remarked as he followed after, experiment forgotten. "Lest you burn down the house, I'll supervise. Kukukuku."

* * *

"There's no food here!" Minato complained as he raided the fridge. "It's all body parts! You're crazy!"

He'd heard that insult about him before, but it was never said directly to his face. _Well, well, I'll make an exception for my 'crazier' 'son.' _"What do you suggest, go shopping?"

Minato sighed. "You're completely hopeless, dad."

* * *

灯光


End file.
